Cooking up a Storm

The start of the Easter Holidays is always met with jubilation at the thought of 2 weeks off work (or skiving as Hubby say’s but I can’t help working in a school) and the disappearance of that ‘Sunday night feeling’ because Monday is a lay in and no rushing around in trying to get out of the house on time. Making arrangements with friends is high on the list as well as late nights, days out and relaxing. Not on the list is cooking dinner which Hubby seems to think is a priority due to having time off work. And it’s not just my hubby.  

Whilst spending some time on Facebook recently because let’s face it, not working allows time to be wasted, sorry spent on here, I saw a post from my friend’s hubby stating that he ‘expected’ a five course dinner when he got home from a hard days graft.  Now I know he was joking about the 5 courses but the expectation was there for the dinner just as my Hubby expects a meal when he gets home. Like I don’t have anything else to do. And the conversation pretty much was the same on Facebook with a few of us of the same mind; moaning at the expectation not only because we’re extremely busy people but because we can’t cook!

And our hubbies know this but still insist on wanting us to cook because it is our duty, our job and we have nothing better to do. Last week, I attempted a curry (a jar of sauce) and could hear Hubby’s voice telling me to slow cook the pork so it’s nice and tender. So I did. But after 20 minutes, I could smell burning. The ‘sauce’ was no more and in its place was a congealed, burnt mass. I made the mistake of stirring it which scraped up the charcoaled bits from the bottom of the pan. But the worst of it was when I actually served it up as ‘dinner’ of which Hubby was not impressed; far from it, even though I said it’s ‘barbequed’. He started saying that if he had served me up something like that, I would have moaned like buggery and not eaten it. Well yes that is true but then my Hubby claims to be able to cook and can cook so I would be very upset to get burnt offerings. However, I have never claimed to be able to cook. Bake; yes, cook; no.

But even with this in mind, I am still expected to cook. Darn! My Hubby has seen through my evil plan of producing crap and hoping never to be asked again to cook. I can’t get out of it that easily it seems. Neither can my friends although one was lucky enough for her hubby to actually prepare meals a few days in advance for her. Now there is a lucky lady with a hubby who listens to the plaintive cries of ‘I can’t cook’ and ‘I hate cooking.’

To be honest, I haven’t actually had to cook yet as Hubby has been off work but that will change tomorrow when he’s back and I have to think ahead, plan and create as nothing less will do. I’m, not allowed to cook frozen foods as I nuke them to death. I’m also not allowed to cook mince as that’s all I can cook apparently and he’s fed up with it, chicken because we had that tonight and pork because I can’t and I burn it. Pasta is out because he’s fed up with that too. Doesn’t leave much does it? And this is why cooking is hard! It’s also hard because I have to cook something that will still resemble a meal the next day as Hubby will take it to work. So you can see the huge challenge ahead of me. Made even more challenging by the fact that I will be visiting a friend tomorrow and once we get together, we shall have hours of fun gossiping, Facebooking, munching and generally putting the world to rights . . . and cooking? Well by tomorrow evening, we’ll both be in the dog house which makes a huge change from your dinner’s in the dog.

Love me; The Undomesticated Devil for a reason.

PS: Any suggestions of what to cook please post here and Hubby may have a chance of a dinner.

PPS: I guess I should dedicate a blog to my poor long suffering Hubby but best it’s not this one. . .

PPPS: This blog is dedicated to Jan Fuller and Lizzie Martin.  I know where you’re coming from and feel your pain when in the kitchen.

xxx